BYU Women’s Cougar Rugby

Earlier this month Kyle’s parents came out to Utah to visit. Kyle’s sister Chelsie, had a rugby game that weekend against New Mexico. They dominated. 75-0. The BYU Women’s Cougar Rugby team is currently ranked 3rd in the nation. They don’t actually have an official endorsement by the university. They are a club team. The girls have to pay for everything. They do a lot of fundraising and have a lot of support from their parents. We wish they had more support from BYU athletics, but hopefully that will come in time. We love watching them play. It’s so fun! I still don’t totally understand all of the rules of rugby, but I’m learning.

Chelsie’s position is the scrumhalf. She takes the ball out of the ruck and gets it moving. She passes the ball backwards to a teammate. (In rugby passes are always made backwards, never forwards.) In the collage above, the bottom left picture is Chelsie passing the ball out of the ruck.

Chelsie also played soccer for Columbia Basin Community College in Washington. Her soccer experience has given her an opportunity to also take the extra kicks for her Rugby team. Below is a sequence of her taking a kick after a try. (A try is like a touchdown in football. It is worth 5 points. The point after is worth 2.)

These two top pictures of Hailey are my absolute favorites. The top left photo is of Hailey saying “hey baby” with her hand on her hip. I can’t take credit for all of the pictures taken. Kyle and I shared the camera that game. Kyle took the top right photo of Hailey. I love it.  That weekend was so stinking cold. It was in the 40’s! The day before the game I realized Hailey didn’t have a beanie that would fit her. So I quickly crocheted her a beanie and finished it the morning of just in time.

The bottom left picture is of another rugby ruck. Chelsie and the scrumhalf from New Mexico are waiting for the play to begin. Notice how they are both number nine? No coincidence. Each position is assigned a number, that is the number the players wear on their jerseys.

What a funny sport rugby is.

P.S. Remember the post I did on the senior pictures of I took of my sister, Corinne, with her hair straight? I had a few requests for a picture of me with mine straight. So, here you go.